House of Lords written question – answered at on 18 June 2007.
Lord Browne of Belmont
DUP
asked Her Majesty's Government:
What indicators they use to measure the impact of the Welsh language Act 1993 on use of the language; and what were the findings to date.
Lord Evans of Temple Guiting
Government Whip, Government Whip
The Welsh language Board was established under the Welsh Language Act 1993 to promote and facilitate the use of the Welsh language. The board monitors the implementation of Welsh language schemes by public bodies and has reported a steady rise in the number of bodies with Welsh language schemes. There are currently 423 statutory and 53 voluntary schemes in operation.
The 2001 census showed that the number of people able to speak Welsh had increased by around 80,000 since 1991, from 18.7 per cent of the population to 20.8 per cent. The Welsh Assembly Government and the Welsh Language Board are currently working with the Office for National Statistics to develop a set of questions for use in the next census to provide more comprehensive data on the language.
The house of Lords is the upper chamber of the Houses of Parliament. It is filled with Lords (I.E. Lords, Dukes, Baron/esses, Earls, Marquis/esses, Viscounts, Count/esses, etc.) The Lords consider proposals from the EU or from the commons. They can then reject a bill, accept it, or make amendments. If a bill is rejected, the commons can send it back to the lords for re-discussion. The Lords cannot stop a bill for longer than one parliamentary session. If a bill is accepted, it is forwarded to the Queen, who will then sign it and make it law. If a bill is amended, the amended bill is sent back to the House of Commons for discussion.
The Lords are not elected; they are appointed. Lords can take a "whip", that is to say, they can choose a party to represent. Currently, most Peers are Conservative.
The language of Wales spoken by around 25% of the population. It is an Indo-European language and belongs to the Celtic group. It was made "offical" in Wales by the Welsh Language Act 1993. It is known in Welsh as Cymraeg.
